CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING – COUNSELING 57 SPRING 2012 Monday and Wednesday, 10:00 to 11:50 a.m. Class Code 42XXX
3 units Acceptable for Transfer CSU/UC Location: Merritt College, xx
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Instructor: Mary Ciddio, M.A. February 6, – May18, 2012
e-mail: mciddio@peralta.edu Phone: (510) 434-3948 (PacificTime)
(I am on campus on Mondays and Wednesdays only. You can always email me)
Course Description:
This is a course about you! It is about your skills, potential, goals, aspirations and hopes. It is designed to assist you in getting to know yourself as others see you and about how to present yourself so that your skills and abilities take center stage whether it be in a job interview, internship interview, college entrance interview or even for a date. We will use various instruments to assess your skills and interests so you can make informed decisions about how and where you fit in the world of work and the world of life. We will look at various ways to explore occupations including using the internet, personal networks, family, friends, informational interviews, and published materials. We will look at different ways to approach career choice and talk about how people end up doing the work they do.
We will talk about how to “market”ourselves and develop our marketing materials which can be cover letters,resumes, references, phone presentation and personal interview presentation. Time management and stress management will also be discussed.
Since this is a course about you, your comments, input and class attendance will be very important in determining your grade. You will have weekly assignments to complete that will be more interactive than theoretical. You will be working in groups, at times, so that you learn to understand how teams function and what makes them function well.
This is an interactive course .We will be exploring many facets of you in the hope that it will help you to make more informed decisions about your career and your life. You will complete assessment instruments and use the Internet to explore careers and labor market information. You will create a cover letter and resumes; discuss informational interviewing, goal setting, time management and more. We will also cover various topics including, but not limited to handling stress, money management, and work readiness skills. We will have guest speakers from various industries come to share their experiences with you.
About the Instructor: Mary Ciddio has worked as a career and vocational counselor in various settings and has helped thousands of individuals identify career goals, learn how to approach employers and become comfortable with focusing on one’s assets and skills. She believes that a sense of humor is essential to the learning process. Mary also has a private vocational counseling practice and works as a vocational expert for Social Security and testifies in Superior Court regarding issues of employment discrimination, personal injury, marriage dissolution and wrongful termination. She is knowledgeable in California Workers’ Compensation to include Rehabilitation, Return to Work and Vouchers. She grew up in Philadelphia, attended Graduate School in Boston and now lives in California with her husband, two kids, three dogs and 2 bunnies.
